Fact Check

Did Hillary Clinton Laugh at 'Under God' Being Removed from the Pledge of Allegiance?

A video shows Hillary Clinton laughing as Susan Shin Angulo flubbed the words to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Published Oct. 26, 2016

Claim:
A video shows Hillary Clinton laughing as the words "under God" were removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.
What's True

A video captures Hillary Clinton laughing as Susan Shin Angulo flubbed the words to the Pledge of Allegiance.

What's False

The words "under God" weren't purposefully "removed" from the Pledge of Allegiance, and Susan Shin Angulo apologized for her mistake.

On 26 October 2016, the conservative web site Free Republic recirculated a video purportedly showing Hillary Clinton laughing as Freeholder Susan Shin Angulo flubbed voicing the words "under God" during a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance at a campaign event:

A woman introducing Hillary Clinton at a campaign event conspicuously removed the words “under God” from the end of the Pledge of Allegiance, prompting the Democratic primary front-runner to laugh.

Susan Shin Angulo, a member of the Camden County Board of Freeholders, began to say the phrase at a campaign rally in Blackwood, New Jersey, on Wednesday, but caught herself in the act and skipped over it.

“Only Hillary can bring us together as one nation, un- — indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” Ms. Angulo said.

The crowd broke out into applause and cheers. Mrs. Clinton nodded and laughed.

The above-displayed video is real and was captured at a campaign event in Camden County, New Jersey, on 11 May 2016. It features Freeholder Susan Shin Angulo introducing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Although Angulo failed to enunciate the words "under God" during her recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, she averred that she had made a mistake at an inopportune moment and had not intended to elide the phrase: “It was just overwhelming and I have to say I am so embarrassed for stumbling at the worst possible time of my speech,” Angulo told New Jersey 101.5. “Anyone who has seen me speak knows I proudly say ‘God Bless America’ in all my speeches. My apologies if anyone thought it was intentional.”

The video does show Hillary Clinton smiling and laughing as Angulo flubbed the Pledge, but it's not clear if she was laughing specifically at the omission of "under God" or whether she was simply trying to make an awkward moment less awkward.

A full video of Clinton's speech, and Angulo's introduction, can be viewed below:

Sources

Alexander, Dan.   "Camden Official Embarrassed at Leaving ‘Under God’ Out of Clinton Introduction.'"     WKXW.   12 May 2016.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.